Couch.



' PATENTED AUG. 1, 1905.

I. T. O'BRIEN.

0011011. APPLIUATION FILED APB. 10,1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1905.

Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254,726.

To a, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FnANcIs T. OBRIEN, of Chicago, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Couches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to couches comprising an upper and a lower elastic fabric, with interposed vertical springs in which the upper fabric is provided around its border With a flexible wire frame extended around the fabric and attached to its edges, and particularly to such construction having the coils of the fabric extended parallel with the ends of the frame and connected at their ends to the side rails of the frame, as found in the United States Patent to Thomas E. OBrien, dated February 16, 1904, No. 752,177.

The object of the improvement is to provide suitable means for strengthening the end portions of such wire frame without using a heavier frame-wire around the entire fabric. I attain this object by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the framework of a couch of the class mentioned. Fig. 2 is a top view of the upper fabric and its wire frame with the ends of said wire frame provided with the strengthening means of my invention. Fig. 3 is a detail of the wire frame separate from the fabric and the strengthening means, which latter is shown in proximity thereto for the purpose of explaining the manner of making said frame.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the rigid frame structure of the couch, to which the legs are attached and upon the top of which the spring or upholstered part of the couch is mounted. The lower elastic fabric 2 has its edges secured to the top of frame 1, and the vertical springs 3, resting on the fabric 2, support the upper elastic fabric 4 and its wire frame 5 in the usual manner.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the fabric 4 consists of strands 6 of intertwisted coils having their ends connected with the longer side rails 5 of the wire frame and their sides at the end coils of said fabric connected with the shorter end rails 5. With such application of the fabric to said wire frame the greatest yielding of the fabric is utilized in conjunction with the longer side rails 5 and the least stretching and lack of thrust by the fabric come on the shorter end rails 5 with a liability in ordinary use of the couch to bend them inwardly so far as to stay bent when the deflecting-weight on the top of the fabric is removed. In order to strengthen the end rails 5 so as to obviate the difiiculty without using a heavier frame-wire, I employ tubes upon said end rails 5 and make the wire frame in the following manner: When the frame-wire is straight, a tube 7, adapted to fit upon the wire and of sufficient length to cover one end of the said frame, is slipped upon the wire and run through the coil 6 at one end of said fabric. Then the wire is bent at right angles to said tube at each of its ends to form the side rails 5. Then other bends are made at ri ht angles to the sides, each forming one-half of the opposite end of the frame, and these are slid into the ends of a similar tube 7 run through the coil 6 at the other end of the fabric. This done the ends of the coil-strands 6 at 8 and all along are secured to the sides 5 to form the finished top. The tubes cooperate with the end parts 5 in such manner as to very efficiently serve the purpose intended.

What is claimed is* In a couch structure of the class described, the combination with the fabric 4 of intertwisted coil-strands and the wire frame 5 pro vided with longer side parts 5 and shorter end parts 5 of the tubes 7 7 a fitted upon the end parts 5*, the sides of the coils at the ends of said fabric being connected with said tubes and the ends of the coils being connected with side parts 5'" as specified.

FRANCIS T. OBRIEN. Witnesses:

ANNIE M. ADAMS, RAY ELIASSOF. 

